Persistent rumours that year had it that US Postal was trying to sign him,
but in September of 2003, Ivan Basso signed with the Team CSC of Bjarne Riis.
Bjarne Riis was looking for a new team leader, after loosing Tyler Hamilton to
Phonak, and Basso was looking for a new start to his career. It was a decision
that neither has so far had cause to regret.

Team CSC’s military-style training camps are justly famous, and Basso’s first
encounter with them has often been mentioned as a turning point in his career.
In one exercise, the riders were forced to jump off a six meter high cliff into
the ocean during the middle of the night, followed by an additional four meter
dive into the sea to recover an object. Something of a challenge for Ivan Basso,
who had never learnt how to swim, a test of his fortitude and courage. Others
could be let off a task, if they couldn’t handle it, but Basso was to be team
leader – he had to complete every task. And he did complete the challenges and
in doing so took the first steps toward becoming the team leader that Bjarne
Riis was looking for.

At Team CSC, Ivan Basso found himself again, as he has occasionally stated in
interviews. This was evident already early in 2004, where the aggressive,
attacking style which his old fans are familiar with was in evidence at the Tour
du Romandie, and even more so during the Giro dell Emilia and Giro di Lombardia
at the end of that year. This year also saw the development of Ivan Basso the
time trialist as, for the first time in his career; he was dedicated training
solely to improving this facet of his riding.

A stage victory and a third place in the Tour de France of that year was a
spectacular result – a much stronger result than expected. Despite this, Basso’s
riding was criticized for being defensive and uninspiring (with ammunition being
drawn from the past two years of poor results); and not doing enough to
challenge Armstrong. The answer to these challenges came in 2005, when Basso put
Lance Armstrong – and everyone else – on the wire during the last mountain
stages of the Tour de France. Everyone else snapped, but Lance Armstrong stayed
strong to take his magical seventh Tour de France victory.

If one can say that Basso re-found himself in 2004, he practically reinvented
himself in 2005. In the wake of the Shooting Star of 2004, Damiano Cunego, many
dismissed the return of Ivan Basso; but 2005 forced everyone to sit up and take
notice. His decision to ride both the Giro and the Tour that year, was in itself
worthy of note, but his dominant riding during the Giro shut the mouths of even
the most ardent critics. Basso’s collapse with a stomach disorder while riding
in the pink jersey cost him the chance of victory, but his decision to fight on,
and subsequent back to back stage victories won him the enduring love of tifosi
everywhere.

His convincing riding in the Tour de France 2005, while nowhere near enough
to unseat a dominant Lance Armstrong, was still enough to earn him the respect
that was denied him in 2004. Quiet, unassuming, and charming – Basso’s conquests
in 2005 could only have been greater if he had actually won one of the two Grand
Tour’s that he’d gunned for.

2006 will perhaps be the watershed year for the Italian from Varese; and many
fans of Cycling will be hoping this will be his year. In a time when most Grand
Tour riders have jumped on the Lance Armstrong bandwagon, and work on the
principle of single-minded dedication toward a few, carefully selected races,
Basso stands apart with his belief and the ability to ride multiple Tours in the
same year at a high level from the start of the season. Meticulous and
methodical on a scale that stands comparison to Armstrong, Basso also stands
apart in his recently avowed intent to be competitive in every race he enters
that suits his talents.

His seventeen victories last year (eight of them in UCI-registered races) was
an impressive tally for a non-Sprinter, and a demonstration of the attitude of
the “new” Ivan Basso. His victories in the Criterium International (1 stage,
Overall, and Points jersey) have already demonstrated that his results last year
were no fluke.

Last year, Ivan Basso secured himself an enduring place in the annals of
Italian cycling history with his comeback to win two stage victories in the Giro
d’Italia; but he still lacks the huge win that is within the reach of his
talents. After playing at domestique at the Fleche Wallone and stretching his
legs at Liege-Bastogne-Liege, Basso’s races (the Giro d’Italia, and Tour de
France) are just around the corner, and the message from Team CSC is that Ivan
Basso has never been stronger.

The throne has been vacated and Ivan Basso looks very much as if he intends
to ascend it.